Hot off the presses is casting news from the Karolina Sivas web series BROKEN AT LOVE. Former THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS and RITUALS actress Sharon Farrell has joined the cast for Season 2. Who will she be playing? Stay tuned!

Congratulations to three-time Indie Soap Award-winning series HUSTLING for reaching its own Kickstarter goal this week. There will be a Season 3 and HUNTING SEASON star Marc Sinoway has joined the cast.

Bianca's DEVANITY furs!

Our pals at DEVANITY keep teasing us on Facebook with photos of jewels, clothes and furs, plus Season 4 guest stars. All we know is we can't wait for this soapy masterpiece to return!

Speaking of guest stars, Amy Acker will drop by in an upcoming episode of web series HUSBANDS, from Jane Espenson and Brad Bell, which debuts in August on The CW Seed. When newlyweds Cheeks (Bell) and Brady (Sean Hemeon) decide to redo their “I dos" with a formal ceremony, Brady's ex-fiancée Claudia (Acker) — a jilted lover with an agenda of her own — unexpectedly arrives.

We met the fabulous team behind the upcoming GAYS: THE SERIES right outside Pieces Bar during New York's recent Gay Pride celebration. A brainchild of native New Yorker Peter William Dunn, GAYS is set to shoot this summer and will premiere online in fall 2013.

GAYS focuses on the lives of four friends—Ben, Cameron, Huxley and Jackson—who live, work and play in New York City. While the characters are purely fiction, the series aims to portray a real slice-of-life of young gay professionals in the city that never sleeps. Dunn, who penned the script and is playing one of the leads, sees the authenticity of GAYS as its most important aspect, “As we continue our fight for equality it's important to gain even more exposure in the world, and to also have an entertaining form of escape. GAYS will offer both of those things. An intelligent, moving, hilarious and most importantly, honest show not only for our community, but that will also be strong enough to exist as a standalone piece of entertainment.”

Aside from Dunn, who is playing Huxley, the cast includes model/actor Thomas Gibbons as Ben, NYC nightlife personality Markus Kelleman as Cameron and new to NYC up-and-comer Jay William Thomas as Jackson. Rounding out the main characters during Season 1 are Justin Garascia as Andrew, Peter Giessl as Parker, Marina Pulido as Natasha and Corey Wright as Will. GAYS will also co-star comedian Lynne Koplitz, currently of WE’s JOAN KNOWS BEST.

New York Brand Productions launched the website for the upcoming TAINTED DREAMS this week, designed by KJS Design & Technology, LLC and Mark Smith Creative. The NYC skyline photo forming the backdrop of the home page is provided courtesy of Rob Santeramo Photography, a partner in NYC Brand Productions. Santeramo has a special connection to the project; he is also the fiancé of TAINTED DREAMS creator and executive producer Sonia Blangiardo.

Introducing the website, Blangiardo explained, “We wanted to highlight our amazing cast and build a little curiosity for the cast members we haven’t announced yet.” Blangiardo went on to reveal, “The shimmery glimmers of light juxtaposed against NYC at midnight evokes my vision of the millions of “tainted dreams” this town has seen come and go. Our story is how some of those “dreams” played out against the backdrop of producing a daily soap opera during precarious days of network interference in the soap’s three-decade run.”

The TAINTED DREAMS website features a brief description and introduction to many of the key characters in the series. Two-time Emmy winner, Blangiardo previously admitted the Tainted Dreams character played by Alicia Minshew (Angelica Caruso) closely mirrors her “real life.” When asked whether longtime soap fans might recognize any of the other characters, Blangiardo grinned and teased, “There may be some other recognizable characters, but I’ll never confirm who they are…at least not as long as they are still alive.” Blangiardo has had a wealth of experience to draw upon creating the TAINTED DREAMS characters; over the past 20 years, Blangiardo has worked at ALL MY CHILDREN, ONE LIFE TO LIVE, AS THE WORLD TURNS and GENERAL HOSPITAL.

Blangiardo also introduced a contest to select two extras from among fans visiting the new Tainted Dreams website. Details are here. Entries must be submitted by 5 p.m. Sunday July 21, 2013. Two winners will be selected to join the filming in New York City August 6. Timing and other details will be supplied to the winners.

Filming for TAINTED DREAMS will begin July 29.

We Love Soaps is the media partner for SOAP REUNION 2013, a cruise with the stars of AS THE WORLD TURNS. Three of the four stars also happen to be involved in the web series world as well: ISA winner Martha Byrne (GOTHAM, ANACOSTIA, PRETTY), Colleen Zenk (THURSTON, TAINTED DREAMS) and Michael Park (GOTHAM, STEAMBOAT). As a pre-cursor, Byrne is also doing a lunch on board a Carnival Cruise Line ship in New York on August 24. Order your tickets here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/7319122693.

3 comments:

Congrats to the Walking Tedd team! I just came across their Kickstarter while promoting my own: Funding Season 2 of "Misdirected" ~ the web series was #2 in last week's indie poll, and characters Josh & Freddie were voted Favorite Couple ~ we were all very excited about that!